The warmth of the rice and herbs filled his stomach, quieting the embarrassing growl that had betrayed him earlier. He ate in silence, occasionally glancing at the silver-haired man sitting across from him. The wooden hut was small, practical, and suspiciously neat for a guy living alone in the middle of nowhere. A single bookshelf lined the wall, stacked with scrolls and wooden tablets. No unnecessary decorations. No personal belongings. Either this guy was a minimalist, a hermit, or a serial killer.
Tianren pushed the thought aside. He had bigger problems.
The man watched him, fingers lightly resting against his knee, his gaze calm but sharp. His presence alone sent Tianren's instincts screaming. He wasn't just some random old man in the woods. He carried himself like someone dangerous.
Which meant one of two things: he was either a hidden master with insane cultivation or a retired killer who had gotten bored of the whole 'murdering people' thing. Neither option made Tianren feel any better.
He finished the last bite, setting the bowl down. The man took a slow sip of his tea before finally speaking.
"You eat like someone who hasn't had a proper meal in days."
Tianren wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "That's because I haven't."
The man hummed, tapping his fingers against his knee. "And how does a lone boy end up starving in the middle of a dangerous forest?"
Tianren froze for half a second. He had no backstory. He had been so focused on not dying that he hadn't even come up with a proper explanation. Crap. Think, think.
He let out a slow breath, pretending to look troubled. "I… don't remember."
It wasn't a lie, technically. He did have memory gaps. Mostly because those memories didn't belong to him in the first place.
The man studied him carefully. Tianren resisted the urge to fidget.
"Memory loss, then," the man murmured. "Hmph. Convenient."
Tianren forced himself to stay still. Oh great, he doesn't believe me. Fantastic start.
The silence stretched for an uncomfortably long moment. Then, the man let out a sigh and leaned back slightly. "No name, no history. And yet, here you are, alive."
Tianren hesitated before nodding. "I got lucky."
The man's eyes sharpened. "Luck doesn't get you through the Valley of Echoing Blades."
Tianren blinked. "The what?"
The man gave him a flat look. "The forest you wandered into. It's one of the outermost borders of Cloudsong Sect's territory. Spirit beasts roam freely here, and remnants of old battles still taint the land. No ordinary boy should have survived long enough to reach this hut."
Tianren resisted the urge to scream internally.
He had unknowingly stumbled into a dangerous territory belonging to a cultivation sect? And no one told him?!
The man studied his reaction, waiting for a slip. Tianren forced himself to look appropriately surprised, widening his eyes slightly.
"I didn't know," he admitted. That part was true.
The man sipped his tea, exhaling through his nose. "Then you are either incredibly lucky or you possess something that kept you alive."
Tianren swallowed hard. He had a very bad feeling about where this conversation was heading.
The man set his cup down and leaned forward. "Show me your spirit root."
Tianren's brain short-circuited.
"…My what?"
The man's gaze narrowed slightly, as if testing him. "Your spirit root. You can sense it, can't you?"
Tianren debated faking ignorance, but something told him that wouldn't work. This guy was testing him.
He swallowed, exhaled slowly, and reached inward.
The wooden mask appeared in his mind's eye, floating in the depths of his soul. Its surface was cracked, its golden veins pulsing faintly.
The moment he touched it, a sharp pulse of energy ran through him.
The silver-haired man's eyes flashed.
Tianren barely had time to panic before the man moved.
One moment, he was seated across from him. The next, his hand was pressed against Tianren's chest. A wave of unseen force pushed into him, sending a jolt of Qi through his body.
The wooden mask reacted instantly.
A pulse of golden energy burst outward, pushing the man back slightly. He withdrew his hand, expression unreadable.
Tianren barely stopped himself from screaming.
What the hell was that?! Was that cultivation?! That felt like getting punched by an invisible truck!
The man rubbed his wrist, his brow furrowing in thought. "Interesting."
Tianren's breathing was unsteady. "Define interesting."
The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached for his teacup, taking another slow sip as if he hadn't just forcefully awakened Tianren's spirit root like a mad scientist poking at an unstable machine.
Tianren watched him carefully, waiting for a verdict.
Finally, the man set his cup down and exhaled. "Your spirit root is unlike any I've encountered. It lacks elemental affinity, yet its energy is stable. It responds only to you, rejecting external influence. And…" His gaze flickered toward Tianren's chest. "It takes shape."
Tianren felt a bead of sweat roll down his back. "And… that's bad?"
The man shook his head. "Not necessarily."
Okay. That was not reassuring.
The man leaned back, stroking his chin. "You have potential."
Tianren's brain ground to a halt.
"…Huh?"
The man smirked slightly. "You heard me. Potential."
Tianren blinked. "Are you sure? Because I currently have zero cultivation, no background, and I get winded climbing stairs."
The man's smirk widened slightly. "Then you have a long way to go."
Tianren opened his mouth, then closed it again.
The way he said that… was this guy planning to train him?
"Hold on." Tianren sat up straighter. "Are you saying—"
The man raised a hand, cutting him off. "I am not taking you as a disciple."
Tianren deflated immediately.
"I will, however, give you a chance," the man continued. "The entrance examination for Cloudsong Sect is in two weeks. If you wish to survive in this world, you need to enter a sect. There is no other path."
Tianren absorbed this information way too slowly.
Two weeks. He had two weeks to prepare for some life-or-death entrance exam?
He forced himself to nod. "And if I don't pass?"
The man sipped his tea, utterly unconcerned. "Then I suggest you find a good place to dig your own grave."
Tianren let out a dry laugh. "Wow. Encouraging."
The man smirked. "I am not here to coddle you. Cultivation is a path of hardship. If you do not have the resolve, leave now."
Tianren fell silent.
He could leave. Run off, try his luck in the world on his own.
But something inside him—the same part of him that had pushed through years of corporate hell, the part that had refused to quit even when exhaustion had nearly killed him—refused to back down.
He clenched his fists. "Alright. I'll do it."
The man nodded approvingly. "Good. Then training begins now."
Tianren's stomach dropped. "Now?"
The man stood, rolling his shoulders. "Did you expect an easy path?"
Tianren barely had time to protest before the man kicked his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.
His grinning mentor cracked his knuckles.
"Welcome to cultivation."